My aim is to offer insights into some of the more subtle principles underpinning prints. The commentary is based on thirty-eight years of teaching and the prints and other collectables that I am focusing on are those which I have acquired over the years.
In the galleries of prints (accessed by clicking the links immediately below) I am also adding fresh images offered for sale. If you get lost in the maze of links, simply click the "home" button to return to the blog discussions.

Condition: well-inked
and well-printed impression in excellent condition (i.e. there are no stains,
foxing, abrasions or holes) but with an almost invisible small tear to the
outer edge and consequently the sheet has been laid on a fine conservator’s
support sheet.

I am selling
this visually arresting graphic translation of a self-portrait by the famous
artist, Tintoretto, engraved by Delaistre for AU$92 in total (currently US$70.58/EUR62.78/GBP53.97
at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere
in the world. If you are interested in purchasing this portrait of one of the
truly great painters o the 16th century, please contact me
(oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make
the payment easy.

Whenever I see
a self-portrait, I look to see if the artist has portrayed their face with
dilated pupils. The reason that I am fascinated with large pupils is that my
personal experience of creating self-portraits reveals that the pupils in my
eyes get larger the closer I get when examining myself in a mirror—a phenomenon
that is no doubt shared by other artists. Although artists tend to see
themselves with unusually large pupils, I wish to propose that portraits where
the pupils are rendered “normal” sized—which is often the case in photographic
“selfies”—the portrait tends to appear soulless. Although not everyone may
concur that self-portraits are more authentic when the pupils are big, I
suspect that Delaistre understood the importance of how pupils are portrayed as
the large pupils in this self-portrait of Tintoretto draw my attention to the
face like a pair of sexy magnets.

Beyond the
treatment of the eyes, this print is a remarkable example of mimetic rendering.
By this I mean that Delaistre uses marks that closely resemble the texture,
softness, opacity and sheen of the surfaces that he represents. Note for
example, how the deeply etched, thick and curving lines describing Tintoretto’s
cloak connote that the material is heavy, dense, soft, and has a slight sheen
to it. Going further, note how the lines describing the cloak’s fur collar
express the length of the individual hairs, the fur’s directional grain and its
shininess. Regarding the rendering of the face—executed with engraved lines
rather than the etched lines describing the cloak—here a complex web of lines express
and differentiate the complex textures of hair, beard and skin. In short, the technical
control and the close observation of detail exhibited in this portrait is
amazing.